Not ashamed
Paul wrote to a church in the capital of the empire, where power meant armies and emperors. He says the real power is a message about Jesus, and he is not embarrassed to say so.
Being unashamed doesn’t mean being loud. It means not hiding who you follow when the moment comes. The gospel has carried its own power for two thousand years; it doesn’t need us to make it look impressive.
Father, when I am tempted to stay quiet, remind me that Your gospel is power. Give me a gentle, steady boldness to speak of Jesus today. Amen.
εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion (eu-ang-GEL-ee-on)). “Good news.” In the Roman world the word announced an emperor’s victory or birth. Paul uses it for a far better announcement: a King who has won, and who offers His victory to everyone.
Paul wrote Romans around A.D. 57, probably from Corinth, to Christians in Rome whom he had not yet met. He hoped they would help send him on to Spain, so this letter was partly a mission appeal.
Alois Kayser, a German Catholic missionary who had served on the island of Nauru for almost forty years, died in Chuuk, where Japanese forces had deported him during the war.